Almighty painter

Chapter 621 Big Market

Is this what it means to reflect one's heart?

Gu Weijing did not use the "real world" as an aid to Menzel's painting skills at all.

The self-portrait in his hand - the girl, the kitten, the light and shadow on the fur, and the ripples in the eyes. Every stroke was drawn by him with his own hands.

However, Gu Weijing felt that all the colors in the painting were more vivid and lovely than ever before.

Everything on the work held at your fingertips is bright and clear in color.

The flowing sunlight, the pink pointed ears, the curve of the small fluff on the belly, bright yellow, orange, pink and white... every kind of paint, every brush mark that blooms on the paper, every intersection of colors, is a blooming petal.

The work that reflects the heart is an evening breeze at the turn of spring and summer.

It blew into Koko's heart, causing thousands of swaying ripples in the tree shadows and clear pond, and blew open a lotus flower that seemed still covered with dew.

It also blew into the stage in Gu Weijing's heart.

The hazy and misty white mist was blown away just like that.

The wind was mixed with all the petals that had bloomed so brilliantly in the spring, and the falling flowers looked like a rain of flowers thrown by naughty children.

It is the symphony of spring.

In the fluttering rain of flowers.

A kitten crept out from the mist. She approached tentatively, stretched out her front paws, and carefully jumped onto him.

She stared at him with cunning eyes.

finally.

The cat nuzzled his forehead and licked his cheek gently.

"Meow meow."
-
“Is this the doll designed by KAWS? It’s as big as… well, like a Gundam. I’ve seen the same one on Broadway before.”

London's West End.

Outside Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, a giant pink statue of a puppet stands on a street corner.

This doll has a fluffy appearance, alien-like cheeks, an octopus-like mouth, and a single ear made up of two horizontal heart-shaped patterns spliced ​​together.

Its eyes are replaced by two huge Xs, which is a bit similar to the cartoon treatment when an animated character in a fairy tale dies or faints.

The first impression is scary, the second is weird.

In short.

The look is quite impressive.

Its size is impressive enough.

Even when sitting, this installation art is more than seven meters high.

The sculpture of the doll leans against the outer wall of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and the facade of the theater is set off by it like the back of a park bench.

From early morning to late evening.

There were countless tourists all around, holding selfie sticks and holding their phones high, taking pictures with them.

"Yes, Mr. Sakai, to be precise, the artist named this doll 'BFF Doll', which means 'BEST FRIEND FOREVER'. Of course, people usually prefer to call it KAWS Doll like you do, and use the name of the artist KAWS to refer to his work."

“KAWS is the most successful fashion brand artist of our time. In the field of fashion art, he is currently in a leading position in the competition with Van Doorn, Takashi Murakami, and even Damien Hirst.”

Two men and a woman stood beside the doll's legs as it sat cross-legged, and together they raised their heads to look at the two large black crosses on the doll's cheeks.

The one who spoke on the interface was the only female among the three.

She looked to be about forty years old.

Latino.

The facial features are somewhat neutral.

Very capable, but not old-fashioned.

The woman is wearing a bohemian American casual shirt with pink and yellow stripes.

short hair.

Although her hair is far from turning white, she has taken the initiative to dye all her hair a layered white.

She looks more like a retired rock singer than a successful businesswoman.

But she is.

"Salma Mapes, we have communicated on the phone many times, but today is the first time that all three parties are present to meet in person. Let's get to know each other again. I was a fashion designer, and now I am the president of Mapes Business Promotion Company in Manhattan. You can call me Salma."

The woman pointed her finger at the huge doll in front of her. On her wrist, the Cartier chain watch inlaid with diamonds shone brightly in the sun.

"Traditional art is outdated nowadays. Oh, sorry, I'm sorry to say that, but this is my own judgment. For me, my relationship with art is like my relationship with Lainie."

Her voice paused.

"Who? That Lannie, the one from New York State..." Jane Arnold frowned and spoke at the right time.

"No, no, no, you definitely don't know the person I'm talking about."

The woman gave the expected smile.

If you want to become the protagonist in a business negotiation, the trick is to make the first move and always draw attention to yourself.

Legend has it that the politician Churchill liked to insert a largest sewing needle into his horn in advance on important negotiation occasions.

As the men sat in the club lounge next to the Parliament building, smoking and talking about tomorrow's House debate or new policies related to the colonies.

Churchill took out the snow pipe with a sewing needle and held it in his mouth.

The ash after burning will not fall down, but will adhere to the surface of the knitting needle, and finally there will be a long ash more than one finger long.

Over time.

All the gentlemen in the club couldn't help but look at Churchill frequently, mainly because they wanted to see when the long cigarette ash would fall.

At this moment, Churchill would stand up, bathed in everyone's gaze, as if he was the backbone of everyone's heart, and begin his passionate speech.

"Laini Kaplan" is the eye-catching "sewing needle" of women.

"She wasn't any famous artist. Miss Lainie Kaplan, she was the student council representative in my high school, a big shot on campus, very beautiful."

Ms. Salma always likes to cite this example.

Famous art masters throughout the country always think that she is talking about some important person, when they rack their brains to think about who the other person is.

Salma would suddenly put forward her own opinions.

"I still remember that she was a cold beauty with a small beauty spot at the corner of her eye. Her father was a judge of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. She was well-educated, but very distant from her classmates. She was often relatively close to peers in a small circle of fraternities with similar family backgrounds. Every time I greeted her, she would nod at me, but never smiled. There was also that kind of just the right amount of confusion of 'who are you' in her eyes."

"Well, it sounds a bit like cold violence, right? We went to high school together for three years, and she was the student representative, but from beginning to end, we probably said no more than twenty sentences to each other, because in Miss Kaplan's eyes, I was just a nobody."

Salma smiles.

"Don't get me wrong, you two. I have no aversion to Miss Kaplan, just as I have no aversion to traditional art."

"More than just not hating her. Whenever I think back to my high school days, I know that I actually have a little yearning and envy for her in my heart. Who doesn't want to have a good family and a father who is a Supreme Court Justice? Miss Kaplan is not bad, she is just a little cold. She has the typical personality and style of a rich girl from a wealthy family."

The woman inserted her fingertips into her short hair, scratched her hair, and made a joke: "Well, I mean the feeling of the Queen of England, not the feeling of the Kardashian family. You should understand."

Jane Arnold smiled politely.

Kazunari Sakai took a bite of the half burger in his hand.

The round fat uncle opened his bloody mouth but took a very delicate little bite.

It's quite cute, like a ferocious shark counting and eating only crayfish.

no way.

Uncle Sakai has to check in with his wife for three meals a day. Since he can't deceive his wife, he can only deceive his stomach and take small bites of each meal so that he can eat for a longer time.

According to the theory of weight loss.

It is said that eating slowly will help you feel fuller more easily.

Uncle Sakai has been gnawing on half a big hamburger for more than an hour.

"This is the dilemma that traditional art is facing. She is not bad, she is just a little cold. During the three years of high school, I have been observing Miss Kaplan. I knew that I was not qualified to be her friend at that time. I just wanted to know how to become a popular figure like her who is elegant and popular among classmates."

"I tried to become popular by observing Miss Kaplan. Do you know what conclusion I came to? After observing her very carefully for a period of time, I realized that I had made a mistake at the beginning. That is... I was surprised to find that she was not the kind of girl who was very popular in the school."

Salma snapped her fingers.

"Yes, she is very beautiful and comes from a wealthy family. People like her should not lack suitors, but from the perspective of emotional needs, people don't like to become partners or friends with people who make them feel pressured, inferior, or embarrassed."

"Making friends is not about finding a boss or being a servant. Not only do I think she is cold, but all the other boys and girls think she is cold and even don't understand her. She refuses to make herself nice, so her aura pushes away those who want to get close to her. In the end, I found that the most popular people in school are those cheerful girls who will chat with you about gossip, talk about idol dramas, and embrace you with open arms."

"Even though her family background is not as good as hers, and she is not as pretty as her, she is more popular than her."

"Traditional art is our Miss Kaplan. When I first entered society, I worked as a fashion designer for five or six years. Although my business card says 'artist', I can honestly tell you that this is just a way to package myself. I am just a nobody in the art industry."

Sarma shrugged calmly.

"Chanel's fashion design assistant? This position doesn't seem so bad. But I think everyone should know that in the art industry, only the top 0.1% of positions are remembered by people, like you two. The rest are shit jobs, like me. If I were still just a fashion designer, I wouldn't be qualified to stand here. I even need to call to make an appointment to meet your assistants."

“For those five or six years, I just did one thing, just like I did in high school — I observed.”

“I am not a good artist, but I am a good industry observer. Do you know what my conclusion is? The traditional classical art industry is already an outdated industry.”

"Mr. Jane Arnold, can I ask you a question? What is the most expensive artwork you have ever sold in your life? It can be a painting or a cartoon character. What is the record price of a single artwork?"

"174 million pounds. The cover painting of The Oz, sold in 07. My famous work."

Jane Arnold said.

The cover painting of "Harry Potter" can be sold for 200 million pounds, mainly because the work of fantasy queen JK Rowling is so powerful.

As for the pure illustration portfolio.

Jane Arnold's drawings can be sold for millions of pounds, which is definitely a miracle among illustrators.

Among all living painters, he can easily rank among the top 50.

"Professor Kazunari Sakai, how about you?"

Salma turned her gaze to the fat man beside her.

"Oh my! The record was a little over 11 billion yen, sold two years ago during the Japanese Olympics. But it was also sold at an auction."

Kazunari Sakai shook his fat belly and looked very proud.

In terms of transaction records, serious painters like him definitely have the advantage.

11 billion yen is almost equivalent to million US dollars.

This is not only a personal record for Kazunari Sakai, but also a peak in transaction amounts for living Japanese painters in the past two or three years.

but.

Because the transaction records are created in the secondary market such as auctions.

That is, collectors buy paintings from galleries, keep them for a few years, and then take them to auction.

Those who make huge profits are collectors who have made successful investments.

Apart from raising Kazunari Sakai's professional status among painters, not a single cent of the 11 billion yen went into the hands of Uncle Sakai himself.

When the collector bought the record-breaking work from the gallery, he only spent about $600,000.

"You see, that's the problem. It's too little and too small."

“There is too little money, and the market is too small. The entire traditional art market looks so lively, but how much money is there? The annual transaction volume is over 10 billion US dollars, and the real big money goes to collectors and galleries. How much does the creator himself get? One fifth, one tenth, or one twentieth.”

"I heard that the two of you had met in New York a few days ago and had a brief preliminary conversation. But the reason why I still decided to set the first meeting here is that I heard that Mr. Jane Arnold happened to have a musical-related project in London's West End."

"Secondly, I want you two to see this giant doll for yourselves."

(End of this chapter)